Tony Blair has headed for the regions to repeat his call for voters to give him a mandate to govern.

The prime minister began the last full day of campaigning on Wednesday in Nottingham with a live phone-in show and the traditional morning press conference.

Blair rejected Conservative claims that people should vote to avoid a big Labour majority. Replying to journalists, he said: "Wouldn't it be more sensible for people, when they have that moment of power, to vote for what they believe in?"

The Labour leader went on to promise that the next Labour government would be more radical than any other that had gone before it.

His analysis of the last four weeks was clear. "The most important thing of the campaign has been the complete defeat of the argument of the Conservatives. The Conservatives aren't defeated unless people come out on polling day," he said.

He did not spare Charles Kennedy either. "The problem of the Liberal Democrats and their proposals is that when you subject them to scrutiny there's a very long list of commitments but a very short list for paying for them," he said.

Earlier in the morning Blair had told one caller on a BBC phone-in, who asked why he had not taken his government to the full five-year-term, that he wanted the backing of the people.

"There comes a time when it becomes important to go back to people and get a mandate," he said.

He also refused to agree to a total rejection of George Bush's missile defence system.

"I can't give that assurance because I don't think it would be the right thing to do," he said, adding that no firm proposal had been received

Blair said: "I think he [Bush] is absolutely right to raise the issue of the proliferation of nuclear weapons."

"In 1972 we had mutually assured destruction as the basis for security. What George Bush is saying is that the world is different now. Russia is not a threat. I don't regard Russia as a threat. But there are other so-called rogue states," Blair said.

On hunting, he defended Labour's failure to get legislation through. "There's a different between the Commons and the Lords and it's got to get through both," said Blair.

"What we have said in our manifesto is that we will give parliament the chance to deliberate on it," he added.

Following news that Railtrack is facing difficulties after shares in the company continued to fall, the prime minister rejected calls for it to be re-nationalised.

"We have looked at this very closely and we believe it isn't in the interest of the public," he said.

The prime minister also repeated his claim that there was "still much to do" adding that the biggest problem for the government had been finding the money to carry out its pledges.

"The first thing you learn as prime minister is that there isn't enough money for everything," said Blair.